And they also like hot things. And cool things, because they’re also kind of cool.

It’s pretty commonly accepted around town that husbands and dads aren’t the bomb-diggity anymore and single guys have all the game. But, a man who can be an amazing life partner, help his little girls play softball, teach his son how to drive, and cook us all an amazing dinner—I’m telling you, that is the real definition of hot.

Joy aka Evil Joy is wife to one Dr. Evil and mother to four children she often refers to as spawn. Joy is a snowboarding fanatic and loves to share her exploits - snowboarding and otherwise - on Instagram. She currently spends copious amounts of time taxiing her children from one place to another. Frequently funny, always honest, and occasionally serious Joy blogs about everything from dealing with messy teenagers to navigating life after PTSD. Joy has been published in the anthologies "Surviving Mental Illness Through Humor" and "Only Trollops Shave Above the Knee" and featured on Sammiches and Psych Meds and In the Powder Room.

When planning a baby shower, the menu is a top consideration, as we all know how the quality of food can make or break a party! There are many factors that should go into your consideration of baby shower menu ideas, such as the venue, the time of day and year, cost, and, especially, the mom-to-be’s preferences!

As a result of the ongoing partnership between Chill Winston and not-for-profit Earthwise Society, Earthwise Harvest Box produce orders are now available for pick up on Fridays from 3 to 6pm at the popular Gastown gastrolounge.

A kid with a passion for cooking since age two, Step Stool Chef is inspiring kids everywhere who share his love for food. With the motto, “Little guys can do big things too!,” Step Stool Chef has joined the ranks of top chefs, cooks, bloggers and foodies on the step-by-step cooking app SideChef to share his recipes and make cooking fun and easy for cooks of all levels and ages.

Ranked in the iTunes Store’s Top 10 apps in the Food and Drinks category and named on USA Today’s best apps of 2014, SideChef provides audio and visual directions, automatic timers and even tutorial videos and tips to guide cooks along the way.

The following are a list of Step Stool Chef’s recipes that are perfect for the little cook in your household:

Jill Amery is a mom of 2 small boys and the Publisher of UrbanMommies, a stylish digital lifestyle magazine filled with fitness, style, health, recipes and savvy mom advice to help you through pregnancy, birth, and raising your kids.

Every mother wants to offer their child the very best possible, whether that’s education, extracurricular activities or the food that we put on their plates. Many of us struggle with how to “do it all”. Finding ways to make life easier is essential for every busy parent (and let’s be honest, isn’t every parent busy?)

Mother Hen Organic Baby Food is a great alternative for busy parents who don’t have the time to prepare and puree their own baby food. They come frozen so they don’t have the preservatives that traditional baby food in glass jars often has. All you have to do is thaw and serve.

Mother Hen had their nutritionist, Genevieve Nadeau, share with us some thoughts on different stages of baby nutrition month by month through the first year. She debunked some common baby nutrition myths and gave great tips on how to care for your baby’s nutritional needs.

Takeaway- Avoiding high risk allergy foods until after 1 year of age does not prevent allergies from developing. Introducing iron-rich foods amongst baby’s first food selections is important for baby’s health and development of palate.

Takeaway- Focus on foods that are high in iron, avoiding foods that are protein rich but low in iron. Introduce new flavours including dark leafy greens, small pasta and fruit.

Takeaway- At 9 months offer the breast or bottle after your baby has eaten their meal. Purees can start to take a backseat as you introduce grated or chopped foods. Introducing baby to a variety of flavours help develop their palate (even food that you may not enjoy.)

Takeaway- At one year baby can start eating all of the same foods as mom and dad eat.

Mother Hen recently shared their line of organic baby food with one of our writers, Kyla Beyer– mommy to baby Harvey and successful Vancouver entrepreneur. Kyla shared with us her thoughts and Harvey’s reaction to this organic line of frozen baby food.

[pullquote_left][/pullquote_left]It’s no secret that it can be challenging to balance career and motherhood. As a new mom I envisioned making all of my baby’s meals from scratch. Boiling, steaming, chopping, pureeing…I did it all….for a while. And then, when I went back to work, I found myself with less time to prepare healthy meals for my son. I wanted to spend my precious time with him, not in the kitchen. There are plenty of canned baby food products in the market, but once I discovered Mother Hen’s frozen baby food I was delighted. Natural, allergen free, no additives and all their fruits and vegetables are organic. I noticed a big difference in the smell and taste (yes, I tasted them!) of the Mother Hen products when comparing them to canned foods because the flavour and nutrients of their foods is retained due to their freezing process.

The Beginner line of purees are blended to the perfect silky consistency(no matter how I tried, I could not get my homemade carrot purees to be anything but lumpy). The portion sizes are perfect for little ones discovering new tastes, and their containers are free of BPA so they can be safely microwaved.

The Junior line (8 months and up) has great flavours such as Chicken Cacciatore and Lamb with Fruits (inspired by Morrocan cuisine and my son’s absolute favourite). The portion sizes are larger for growing appetites and the variety of flavours help to expand his palate.

My discovery of Mother Hen’s line of baby food has freed up precious time and helped me to find balance in my busy life as mother and career woman.

Thank you to Kyla and baby Harvey for testing and sharing their thoughts on Mother Hen Organic Baby Food and to Mother Hen for sending them food to test.

Kyla Beyer is mother to Harvey and the owner of Limelight Floral Design, a busy boutique floral studio based in West Vancouver. With the help of her fabulous husband she manages to balance it all and still find time to stop and smell the roses.

The Lunch Warmer comes in purple, blue, black, red. It has a 20 oz capacity making it perfect for an individual sized meal!

No time in the morning to pack a warm meal for yourself or your children? Enjoy a comforting meal with the Crock-Pot Lunch Warmer. It warms food on the go, while still staying cool to the touch outside for safety. It’s easy to clean-just stick the removable food storage container in the dishwasher! You can even leave the warming base at work/school and use the detachable food container to transport meals back and forth. How about packing last night’s leftovers of Slow Cooker Lasagna for a nutritious lunch? Crock-Pot

We’ve all been there. Our intentions were amazing, we remembered the ice packs, lotion and pail. And then the snacks got ‘invaded’ by sand. Or the sandwiches got soggy. Yuck. Here are a few of our sand and sog-proof healthy snack ideas to help keep the kids happy and full while they enjoy the beach. We like things that don’t require a plate and cutlery – ‘hand snacks’. Here are our top Sandproof Healthy Snack Ideas for the Beach.

Jill Amery is a mom of 2 small boys and the Publisher of UrbanMommies, a stylish digital lifestyle magazine filled with fitness, style, health, recipes and savvy mom advice to help you through pregnancy, birth, and raising your kids.

I recently saw an array of knives by Victorionox Swiss Army. My husband has made me somewhat of a knife snob (he worked at a butcher shop in his teens) and taught me everything I know. So I ‘investigated’ these specimen. I checked balance, heft, grip, sharpness. The plastic paring knives are great (and colourful) for everyday jobs, and I imagine that they’d be my go-to knife for most kitchen jobs. But what would make me feel like the gourmand that I aspire to be? What really got my juices flowing (so to speak) were the luxury knives. Pick up a professional forged chef’s knife from Victorionox and you’ll want to host a dinner party. All models are forged from one piece of black-smithed steel and have a seamless transition from the blade to the handle. And think of all the money you’ll save on dinners out.. Pictured: Forged Carving set. Retail: $230

Jill Amery is a mom of 2 small boys and the Publisher of UrbanMommies, a stylish digital lifestyle magazine filled with fitness, style, health, recipes and savvy mom advice to help you through pregnancy, birth, and raising your kids.

Prior to beginning this competition did I think I would have challenges? You bet! Did I consider these challenges and plan ways to combat them in my totally awesome TBR Workbook? Absolutely! Did I consider that something as simple as walking through the bread section at my local grocer would stop me in my tracks? Most def… wait, what? Having considered roadblocks like emotional eating, boredom or incessant snacking, I didn’t even think to consider the everyday places and activities that could trip me up.

Jill Amery is a mom of 2 small boys and the Publisher of UrbanMommies, a stylish digital lifestyle magazine filled with fitness, style, health, recipes and savvy mom advice to help you through pregnancy, birth, and raising your kids.

About Jill Amery

When Jill Amery started publishing UrbanMommies in 2008, she wanted to create a place where the urban parent could be cared for and nurtured, so that they would be able to deliver their best selves to their family and passions.
Since then, UrbanMommies has reached millions of moms with stories about travel, fashion, parenting, pets and family cuisine. Jill has created a community of moms who understand that if they are at their best, then everyone around them is as well.